This invention relates generally to the art of packaging and more particularly to the art of bagging lawn debris.
Collecting and discarding leaves, grass trimmings and the like has long presented a problem which, in part has been minimized by the wide scale use of large plastic bags, which bags are economical to use and which can be easily disposed of. Plastic bags for collecting and disposing of leaves and grass trimmings have been used by home owners and the like on a substantially wide scale for a number of years. While these bags provided a convenient means for storing leaves and other disposable trash, the use of such plastic bags has in itself created additional problems, particularly with regard to filling the bags, due to the flexiblity and weakness of the bags. Users of plastic bags have for a substantial period of time been confronted with the problem of how to easily fill the bags, such as with leaves, grass trimmings and the like. The bags are extremely flexible and thus trash can be deposited into the bags only by having some means for holding the bag open, such as by suspending the plastic bag within a large metal can or drum.
While this procedure does provide adequate support for the bag, it is unsatisfactory since it requires that all the trash has to be manually lifted so as to be deposited into the bag.
One solution to this problem is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,711,141 to Soergel wherein a frame having a radially adjustable outer member is utilized to hold a large bag open upon the ground for racking leafs into such large bags. While this was an improvement over the prior art it left many problems with respect to the placement of leaves into the bag and maintaining a bag in a desirable open relationship.
Another bag distending device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,934,803 to Paulus, Jr. The device described therein is a rather complex skeletal frame about which the bag is spread for purposes of filling.